SIR Keir Starmer’s £6bn military cash boost could help fund Labour’s Chagos surrender deal, the PM suggested today.
At a fiery PMQs, Sir Keir refused THREE TIMES to rule out using fresh defence funding to help hand the critical archipelago to China‘s ally, Mauritius.
PAPrime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out using a £6bn cash boost for defence to pay China’s ally Mauritius[/caption]
PAConservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch questioned the PM on where fresh military funding will go during PMQs[/caption]
In the Commons Tory leader Kemi Badenoch demanded “clarity and transparency” over where the billions, that are supposed to bolster the army, will go.
She asked the PM: “Can he confirm to the House that none of the defence uplift includes payments for his Chagos deal?”
Sir Keir responded: “The additional spend I announced yesterday is for our capability on defence and security in Europe as I made absolutely clear yesterday.
“The Chagos deal is extremely important for our security, for US security. The US are rightly looking at it.
“When it is finalised I will put it before the House with the costings.”
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The PM added: “The figured being banded around are absolutely wide of the mark.
“The deal is well over a century but the funding I announced yesterday is for our capability to put ourselves in a position to rise to a generational challenge. That is what that money is all about.”
The hated Chagos surrender deal would see Britain hand the strategic archipelago to Mauritus, while paying £9bn to lease the island of Diego Garcia, which is home to a joint US-UK military base.
In 2019 a foreign court ruled that the UK should give up the islands.
The judge on the case, Jamaican Patrick Robinson, has also said the UK should pay £18 trillion in slavery reparations.
While the deal was supported by Joe Biden‘s Whitehouse administration, its future under Donald Trump is less certain.
Many allies of the US President are strongly opposed to the plan, which they view as a serious danger to the security of both Britain and America.
Hitting back at Sir Keir, Ms Badenoch said: “We need to make sure we’re supporting a plan that is clear and transparent.”
The Tory leader also accused the PM of being “patronising” in refusing to clarify where defence funding will go and come from.
She said: “Someone needs to tell the Prime Minister that being patronising is not a substitute for answering questions. He hasn’t answered.
“What he has said is different from what he said yesterday.”
Earlier today Defence Secretary John Healey similarly refused to give details on how much money could go to Mauritius.
He was asked the question five times – but refused to answer.
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